MYOB Essentials tech tips

Want the latest tips and tricks to make sure you’re getting the best out of your MYOB Essentials software? Look no further…

Amending payment summaries in MYOB Essentials: July 2018

If you have not lodged the payment summary annual report (EMPDUPE file) with the ATO, go through the payment summary process again in MYOB Essentials to generate amended payment summaries for your employees.

This will also create a new EMPDUPE file (so discard any previously created EMPDUPE file).

If you have lodged the EMPDUPE file with the ATO, MYOB Essentials has you covered.

Here’s what to do:

1. Go to the Payroll menu and choose PAYG payment summaries.
2. Choose the Financial year and select the employees who require amendments.
3. Click Enter payment summary info.
4. Click Edit summary details.
5. At the first question, select Yes, this is an amendment.
6. Continue the payment summary process as normal, amending the payment summaries as required.
7. Print, email and/or save the finalised amended payment summaries.
8. Create a new EMPDUPE file. This file will only contain amendment info for the selected employees.
9. Lodge this file using the ATO Business Portal.

Top tips for End of Financial Year: June 2018

You’re probably aware of the extremely helpful EOFY webcasts that are now available to help you get through the end of this financial year. If you haven’t watched these already, check them out here.

Below we’ve highlighted some of the most useful tips for ensuring your end of year processes go smoothly.

Check employee email addresses before emailing payment summaries

If you plan to email your payment summaries to your employees, check that their email addresses are correct. You don’t want someone’s payment summary going to someone else by mistake – awkward!

You’ll need to check the email address entered in the Employee details tab of the Employee record:

Lock the period after you’ve closed your financial year

This will prevent anyone from inadvertently making an entry in a period in which you don’t want new entries. This is a good habit to get into as part of your regular month-end tasks, as well as EOFY. For more information, see Locking periods.

Invite your accountant

Invite your accountant or bookkeeper to access your business so they can do any end of year adjustments. Inviting an accounting advisor to become a registered user will allow them access to all of your business information directly via the internet, and enable them to work with you on your books.

Need EOFY help?

How to stay secure when using MYOB overseas: May 2018

If you travel frequently, you probably don’t want to be away from your books too long. Of course, with MYOB Essentials, you can work anywhere there’s an internet connection.

But if you’re working overseas, how do you keep your data secure?

Adding two-factor authentication (2FA) to your MYOB account improves your security by making it harder for other people to access your data. 2FA is a secure sign-in process that combines something you know (your password) with something you have (your phone or tablet, or your email account).

2FA adds a second line of defence, and keeps your data secure.

Here’s how it works:

You’ll sign in using your MYOB email and password as usual.

You’ll be asked for an authentication code. Depending on how you’ve set up 2FA, you’ll get this code from either an authenticator app on your phone or tablet, or an email that we will send you.

And, you can use this service when you’re overseas.

Your authenticator app will still work overseas as it doesn’t require mobile coverage, data or internet access.

You don’t even need a mobile phone.

If you won’t have a mobile phone overseas, you can:

use your one-time backup codes (provided to you when you set up 2FA or downloadable from the Security Centre)

use an authenticator called Authy which can be installed on your laptop, or

Get ready for STP reporting: April 2018

Single Touch Payroll (STP) is the ATO’s new payroll reporting requirement, and it starts on 1 July 2018 for employers with 20 or more employees. Learn more about STP on the MYOB blog.

Before you can start reporting payroll info to the ATO, you’ll need to ensure your MYOB Essentials’ business and employee details meet the ATO’s requirements. MYOB Essentials helps you check these details and identifies any missing or incomplete details, including:

MYOB Essentials also helps you assign an ATO reporting category to each of your pay items (earnings and deductions). This identifies the type of payments you’re reporting to the ATO, such as gross payments, allowances, etc. If you need help assigning ATO reporting categories, talk to an accounting advisor or check with the ATO.

Getting ready for STP reporting now will ensure quick and easy STP reporting to the ATO. We’re still working on the reporting side of things, but we’ll let you know when it’s ready.

Simplify your timesheets and payslips with YourPay: March 2018

“Where’s my payslip?”

The only thing more tedious than repeatedly having to answer this question is manually entering employee timesheets. But thanks to a handy free app, your employees can take responsibility for entering timesheets and viewing their payslips.

YourPay is a web page that works within MYOB Essentials where your employees can enter timesheets and check their last five payslips. It works on any browser via a smartphone, tablet or computer, so they can access it anywhere – and no need to download an app.

For you, it means a simpler pay day with more accuracy and less admin – employee hours and notes are automatically imported into the pay run, and payslips are sent straight to YourPay for your employees to access.

You still have plenty of control though – you can get a breakdown of hours worked and you can manually change them if you need to.

And it’s all part of your subscription – you get this convenience at no extra charge.

You can easily invite your employees to use YourPay in the Employee details tab:

Setting up bank feeds: February 2018

An MYOB Essentials subscription includes one of the best time-saving features available: bank feeds.

Gone are the days of manually recording bank and credit card transactions into your software – bank feeds does it all for you. The feed comes directly from your bank, into MYOB Essentials, so you know the data is current and accurate. And the best part is it makes reconciliation a breeze.

Getting started is easy – just click Set up bank feeds on your MYOB Essentials dashboard.

Follow the prompts to get the ball rolling, then depending on your bank, you might be able to complete the application process via your online banking software. Otherwise there’s an application form to submit.

Add a message to your invoices: November 2017

Whether it’s “Merry Christmas!”, “Happy Holidays!” or “We’re closed over Christmas”, why not add a personal message to your end of year invoices? It’s a great way to spread some cheer or announce business changes.

You can add a note to an invoice or quote using the Notes to customer box when entering the invoice or when creating the quote. If you want the same note to appear on all your invoices or quotes, select the Remember this option.

To remove the note from the invoice or quote you’re viewing, delete the text from the Notes to customer box.

To remove the note from all future invoices or quotes, also select the Remember this option.

Make your invoices and quotes shine: October 2017

Have your invoice and quotes really reflect your business’s personality by adding a logo or banner.

In your invoice and quote settings, you have full control over the styles and themes of the documents you send to your customers.

Add your business’s logo and details to the top of your quotes and invoices, and customise their size and placement.

You can even choose what contact details to include, including website, email, address and phone number.

Is a plain logo just not cutting it anymore? Try adding a full width header to your quotes and invoices for that professional look.

Just make sure you include your business details in the image if you want them, as they won’t appear on their own. And just like with your logo, you can choose a theme and colours, and whether to format the address so it works with a windowed envelope.

The benefits of locking your financial year: June 2017

So you’ve closed your financial year and knocked it out of the park. If you and your accountant are satisfied that your accounts are all reconciled and you’re not going to be making any adjustments, you can “lock” the year from within your Business details settings.

Locking your financial year means that you won’t be able to accidentally enter any transactions that will affect your reports, BAS and anything else you’ve already reported to the ATO. Don’t worry – if you need to make any changes later on, you can always go back and unlock the period. For more information on locking periods, see the Locking periods online help page.

BONUS TIP: A Super Idea!

Process your next super guarantee early (before June 30), to qualify for a tax deduction in the 2016/17 year! To do this, simply submit your super payments via PaySuper, or MYOB’s super portal by MYOB’s processing deadline of 25 June.

Stay compliant with these EOFY tips: May 2017

We’ve recently updated Essentials with some important compliance changes for Australian businesses who hire working holiday makers or pay fringe benefits.

If you hire working holiday makers (visa subclasses 417 or 462), new taxation rules came into effect on 1 January 2017. To help with this tax rule change, we’ve put in a new tax table you can assign to working holiday makers. Note that you will have needed to register with the ATO to use this tax table. For more information, see our Working Holiday Maker help topic.

There’s also been a change to the way businesses who fall under Section 57A of the Fringe Benefits Tax Assessment Act 1986 report fringe benefits. Affected businesses are mainly not-for-profit organisations and some public health institutions. If your business falls under Section 57A, you now need to report exempted fringe benefits. We’ve added a new section in your Payroll settings called PAYG payment summaries, where you can designate your business as falling under Section 57A. Essentials will then add the necessary fields when producing your payment summaries. For more information, see the Set up your payroll help topic.

Backpacker tax and Essentials : February 2017

From 1 January 2017, tax rates changed for working holiday makers who are in Australia on a 417 or 462 visa. This new tax rate is commonly known as the ‘backpacker tax’.

To use this new tax rate, you needed to by January 31. If you didn’t register but need to pay working holiday makers, you’ll need to assign them the applicable Foreign Resident tax. If you’re not sure which tax table to use, check with the ATO.

We’ll be releasing an update later this year to cater for the new tax rate. Until then, if you’ve registered you can tax working holiday makers using the Approved withholding variation located in your employee’s tax details.